Makuzi Beach Lodge

Clear, still water fronts a private cove on Lake Malawi, with a beach of pale sand and a bar perched above it looking toward Mphandi Kuche Island. Makuzi Beach Lodge was built here in 1993 by a family who wanted a lodge on the north-west shore, using local materials and local builders. It is still family-run more than thirty years on. Guests choose between four standard chalets, two superior chalets set among indigenous trees and rock outcrops, a family cottage sleeping up to six, a self-catering cottage, and a lakeside campsite. Every chalet is mosquito-screened, with four-poster nets and a fan. The two superior chalets, Coconut and Otter's Point, sleep two and add en-suite bathrooms, a minibar and a private veranda over the lake. Behind the lodge, gardens have grown into Rift Lake Spice Co., Malawi's first spice garden, where cacao, vanilla, cinnamon, pepper and cardamom grow among indigenous trees. Guests can walk the grounds with a tree guide and bird list from their room, or book a guided tour. The kitchen draws on the same gardens for its menus. A cooking experience called A Journey Through Spices runs from an early garden harvest through to a private dinner on a balcony above the water. Birdlife is abundant, and butterflies cross the paths through the day.